Boating under the influence lawyer in St. Petersburg

How BUI stops happen on Tampa Bay and the Intracoastal

Most boating under the influence arrests in Pinellas County are made by officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) or a local marine patrol unit. They concentrate on the busy water: the Intracoastal Waterway behind the Gulf beaches and the open bay on summer weekends and holidays.

For years, an officer could pull alongside any boat for a random safety equipment check, and plenty of BUI cases started that way. That changed on July 1, 2025, when Florida's Boater Freedom Act amended section 327.56. A state or local officer may no longer stop or board a vessel for the sole purpose of a safety or sanitation equipment inspection. The officer needs probable cause that a boating-law violation has occurred, and an equipment problem by itself is only a secondary offense. The U.S. Coast Guard is not covered by the state law.

So the first question we ask in every BUI case is why the boat was stopped. If the officer can't point to a real violation, such as running through a posted no-wake zone or operating carelessly, we move to suppress everything that came after the stop.

Florida BUI penalties under section 327.35

You can be convicted of BUI by operating a vessel while your normal faculties are impaired by alcohol or drugs, or by operating with a breath or blood alcohol level of .08 or higher. The penalty ranges are set by statute:

• First conviction: a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail.
• Second conviction: a fine of $1,000 to $2,000 and up to 9 months in jail, with at least 10 days in jail if it comes within 5 years of the first.
• Third conviction within 10 years of a prior one: a third-degree felony with at least 30 days in jail.
• Third conviction more than 10 years after a prior one: a fine of $2,000 to $5,000 and up to 12 months in jail.
• Fourth or later conviction at any time: a third-degree felony with a fine of at least $2,000.

A result of .15 or higher, or having a passenger under 18 on board, raises the ranges. On a first offense, that means a fine of $1,000 to $2,000 and up to 9 months.

A first conviction also brings up to a year of probation and at least 50 hours of community service. The court orders a substance abuse course and impounds your boat, or one of your vehicles, for 10 days. That impound period grows to 30 days on a second conviction within 5 years and 90 days on a third within 10 years.

Refusing a breath test on the water

Under Florida's implied consent law for boaters, section 327.352, operating a vessel in this state means you've agreed to a breath or urine test after a lawful BUI arrest. A blood test can be required only in narrower situations, such as when you're being treated at a hospital and a breath or urine test isn't possible.

A refusal on the water is handled differently from a refusal on the road. A first refusal brings a $500 civil penalty under section 327.35215. You have 30 days to pay it or ask for a hearing before a county judge, and operating a boat in Florida after letting that deadline pass is a first-degree misdemeanor. The refusal itself becomes a first-degree misdemeanor if you were fined for a boating refusal before, or if your driver's license was ever suspended for refusing a test. The prosecutor can also tell the jury that you refused.

Does a BUI suspend your driver's license in Florida?

No. The BUI statute contains no driver's license suspension, and there is no 10-day DHSMV deadline after a BUI arrest like the one that follows a DUI arrest. You can keep driving to work while the case is pending, and a BUI conviction does not take your license on its own.

The two offenses are still linked. Under section 316.193, a BUI conviction counts as a prior conviction if you're later charged with DUI, so an arrest on the road would be punished as a second offense. If you are also facing a car-related charge, our St. Petersburg DUI lawyer page and our page on Florida driver's license suspensions explain the license side.

Felony BUI charges in Pinellas County

Boating crashes happen fast, often near crowded sandbars or in narrow channels where wakes stack up. A BUI that damages someone's property or injures another person is a first-degree misdemeanor. If someone suffers serious bodily injury, the charge is a third-degree felony. BUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony with a 4-year minimum mandatory prison term, and it becomes a first-degree felony if the operator failed to give aid or information after the accident.

The severity ladder below shows the maximum jail and fine for each Florida offense level, so you can see how far apart a misdemeanor BUI and a felony BUI sit.

In felony BUI cases, the State usually relies on a blood draw taken at the hospital and an FWC accident investigation. We review both early, while the boat and the scene can still be examined.

How a BUI lawyer defends the case

Water conditions create problems for the State that a roadside DUI doesn't have. After a full day of sun and wind on a moving deck, plenty of sober people are tired, red-eyed and unsteady on their feet. Field sobriety exercises were designed for flat, dry ground, yet officers sometimes give them on a rocking boat or on a dock right after you step off one.

Florida defines "operate" broadly. It covers the person steering, and it can also reach the person in charge of the boat or responsible for its safety while underway. When several people took the helm during the day, who was operating at the time of the stop can be a real fight.

Doug Greenberg started his career as a state prosecutor, and he knows which of these problems make the State Attorney's Office reconsider a BUI. We get the officer's body camera video and the breath test records, then meet with the assigned prosecutor. Depending on the facts, a BUI can sometimes be reduced to reckless operation of a vessel, or to careless operation, which is a noncriminal violation. If the State won't move, we file motions to suppress and prepare for trial in Pinellas County court.